On the 3rd (local time), the fourth day of armed clashes between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other, the conflict was spreading uncontrollably across the Middle East. Iran, in retaliation against the United States and Israel, attacked Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and even the British military base in Cyprus. Israel, while continuing its offensive against Iran, is widening the front to Lebanon by bombing Beirut and targeting Hezbollah, the Iran-aligned armed faction in Lebanon. The Washington Post (WP) reported, “Twelve countries and roughly 300 million civilians have suddenly found themselves swept into the vortex of war.”

Iran continued its attacks that day on United States allies such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE. The UAE came under a concentrated barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles, leaving three dead and dozens wounded. The UAE Ministry of National Defense said its air-defense network intercepted 161 of 174 Iranian ballistic missiles, 645 of 689 unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), and seven cruise missiles. Debris from the intercepts killed three people and injured 68, resulting in significant casualties.

Qatar, which had been mediating between Iran and the United States and Israel, was also attacked by Iran. The Qatar Ministry of National Defense said its air force shot down two Russian-made Su-24 fighter jets that were approaching from Iran. This was the first instance of Iran sending fighter aircraft rather than missiles and drones, interpreted as a new signal that it is expanding attacks across the region.

After Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and then used drones to attack two facilities of state-run QatarEnergy of Qatar, the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer in the world, the global energy market was left in an unstable state. After QatarEnergy announced a halt to LNG production following the Iranian drone attacks the previous day, European gas prices surged by more than 50 percent in a single day.

United States embassies in the region have also been hit in succession. The Saudi Ministry of National Defense announced that the United States Embassy in Riyadh was attacked by two Iranian drones, and that “a small fire and minor damage occurred.” The United States Embassy in Saudi Arabia suspended all consular services, and the United States Embassy in Kuwait, which was attacked by Iranian drones the previous day, said it would close the mission indefinitely.

Israel is expanding the front by concentrating strikes on Beirut, the Lebanese capital and a Hezbollah stronghold, and on the south. In the early hours, Israel struck Hezbollah command centers and weapons storage facilities in Beirut. The attack left at least 52 dead and 154 wounded in Lebanon.

The Royal Air Force Akrotiri base in Cyprus also came under attack the previous day from Iranian Shahed suicide drones. The United Kingdom became the first country in Europe to be attacked by Iran.

Shira Efron, a researcher at the United States think tank RAND Corporation, told the WP, “This crisis began as a quasi-precision strike operation targeting the Iranian leadership and military assets, but it is already veering toward being almost unmanageable.” Khalid Al-Jaber, Secretary-General of the Middle East Council for International Affairs in Qatar, wrote in an Atlantic Council contribution, “Iranian attacks are not limited to military facilities. They have affected airports, key infrastructure, hotels, and residential areas where civilians work and move.”

Meanwhile, the Israeli military bombed the building of the state-run IRIB broadcaster that day and said it had “struck and dismantled the communications center of the terror regime of Iran.” IRIB said there were two explosions near its headquarters, but station operations were not disrupted. According to the Iranian Red Crescent, more than 130 cities in Iran were bombed, with at least 555 dead.

Iran carried out a ballistic missile strike early that morning targeting Tel Aviv and other locations in Israel. The Associated Press (AP) reported that at least 11 people were killed in Israel.